10 More Things I Hate About You
by Ella Ynrihan
Summary: Kat dumps Patrick, but thanks to fate and a Goddess named Aphrodite, the blow to his heart doesn't hurt as bad as it should. Story is better than the summary. PatrickOC


A/N: I had some time to daydream and thought this up. Hope you like. I'll try my best to think of some twists and turns and stuff, but I love input from my readers, and it would be really nice to get some suggestions.

Chapter 1

Patrick Verona's home (September 1999 – The 'Movie World')

Patrick Verona sat on the couch in the living room of his trailer park home. It was afternoon, right after he had gotten off work for the day. The old TV was blasting with sounds of MTV and the room smelled of something that had gone bad a week ago, but Patrick didn't care. He lived alone. His grandfather had passed away earlier the year before, his mother was in Australia and now he had the house to himself. The place wasn't really that bad, and he had a job to save for college. He even planned to head over to Sarah Lawrence where Kat Stratford, his girl friend was, after he had gotten enough money for at least a year. He didn't plan on getting a scholarship and he couldn't plan on getting one. His grades weren't greatest and his after school activities would definitely not impress the board of admissions; i.e. they weren't exactly school appropriate.

He had spent all his summer working, and helping Kat moving into her new dorm in New York. School was starting today for Kat's younger sister, Bianca, who was now a junior at his old high school. The rest of Patrick's friends were all scattered along the country. Really he didn't realize it or think about it. But he truly was alone.

Patrick scooped another spoonful of Spaghetti-Os and shoved it into his mouth just as the doorbell rang. Patrick cursed loudly and incomprehensibly as he threw the bowl down on the coffee table, stumbling over to the doorway. The doorbell rang again. "I'm coming!" He shouted loudly and he got to the door. Quickly, he threw open the door quickly, scaring the short man in the brown UPS uniform.

"D-d-delivery for Patrick V-Verona." He stuttered, holding out an electronic clipboard and pen. Patrick quickly grabbed them from the started delivery man and signed, then handed the pen and clipboard back at him, giving the man one of his trademark Patrick Verona smiles. The delivery man pointed out the large brown bag wrapped package standing against the wall of his trailer home. "That's it, sir. H-have a nice day." And with that, the delivery man left.

Patrick looked at the package in a quizzical manner. He hadn't ordered anything, and he wasn't expecting a package anytime soon from mommy dearest. What could it possibly be? Patrick slowly picked up the package and brought it into the house. He slowly put it on the couch and stared at it for a few moments before tearing it open. After tearing back the brown bag paper all the way, he discovered a black a guitar case. Why was someone sending him a guitar…? Unless…Patrick quickly opened the guitar case to reveal a white Fender Strat, his girlfriend Kat Stratford's guitar he had bought her a few months before.

Panicking, Patrick quickly closed the guitar case and picked up the cordless phone. He dialed furiously, and held it to his ear anxiously. He listened for the ring tone. It rang twice before Kat picked up. "Hello?" She sounded oblivious and innocent when she spoke, though she was neither.

"Kat, why is your Fender Strat sitting in my living room at this very moment on my sofa wrapped in brown delivery paper? Is there something you aren't telling me Kat? What is going on?" Patrick sat down on his grandfather's old torn-up arm chair.

Kat sighed on the other end. "Patrick…Look…I want to break up. I'm a college student, you're some mechanic. We're both on different coasts and thousands of miles away. We were both kidding ourselves by believing this would work out. Long distance relationships are hell and it was going to end sometime. Just…let's make this less painful for each other." Patrick was silent on the other end. "Pat? Are you still there?"

Patrick frowned and took a deep breath. He used almost all the strength in his body to restrain himself from yelling at her or hanging up on her. "I thought we were happy, Kat. I thought I mattered. I thought 'us' mattered to you. The only I got this damn mechanics job down here and not by you was so that I could make money and afford to live in the same house as you while we both went to Sarah Lawrence next year. I could be in community college right now, Kat! I could actually be getting somewhere in my life now!" Patrick yelled, his tone becoming fiercer with each word. He was obviously annoyed. "Yes, thanks a lot!"

"Pat, please don't yell-" But before Kat could say anymore, Patrick hung up on her. He forcefully pulled the phone cord out of the wall and threw the phone, along with its base against the wall. A loud bang sounded when the plastic hit the wall. Patrick moved to a fetal position, his forehead in lying on his knees, and his eyes closed. He didn't cry or even react. He just thought, and stayed in that position for awhile, just listening to the sounds of Letters to Cleo as one of the group's songs played on MTV.

New York, New York – Present Day – Reality (November)

"GET YOUR ASS OUT OF MY HOUSE AND DON'T COME BACK!" Adrienne slammed the door shut in the face of her now ex-boyfriend Justin. She had come home that evening with him passed out on her couch with an open bag cocaine lying on her coffee table next to the couch along with an open bottle of vodka. It didn't take a genius to figure out what he was doing while she was in class during the day and part of the night, and like most college girls who went to a top notch school like Columbia, did want a boyfriend who was going to drag them down with their drug or drinking habits. So it was then, long story short, she shoved him off her couch, shoved his 'belongings' at him and ousted him from her apartment.

Justin was a bit surprised to be shoved out so quickly, it took him a few minutes to realize what she had done. Adrienne quickly locked the three locks on her apartment door, as he banged loudly outside on the door, screaming curses and other vulgarities with a bit of slurring following them. She simply moved over to the living room/ kitchen area, shrugging him off, turning on her computer tuned to an Oldies-Rock station on her internet radio and turning it up to the highest volume. It easily outdid Justin's screaming from outside.

Adrienne slowly sat down on the couch. She pulled her textbooks closer in attempt to study, but no avail. Tears were welling in her eyes as looked at the white pages. Why did the drama have to come now? Finals would be soon, she was falling behind in two of her courses, holiday travel would have to take place soon, her computer wasn't working so every assignment she had had to be done by hand, she was arguing with her best friend, she and her mother weren't speaking, and now Justin had decided to come out of the closet with his uncrushed addictions. So much stress…

Adrienne got up off the couch again, this time going for the window. She looked across to ferry docks watching the last few ferries take those late workers home for the night both ways across the Hudson River. The stars were supposed to starting to come out early since it was early fall, but there were none. She looked up into the sky slowly turning dark, almost completely black except for one exception of one lone bring star. It was peculiar, she had to admit, but then again, stars all appeared at different times each day right?

Slowly, she closed her eyes and pretending she was an 8 year old again in her mother's good grace, when life was simpler, and hormones weren't involved, she made a simple wish. After making her wish she went back over to sofa and sat down. She took another glance at her books before shaking her head at them. There wasn't any work that was going to get down tonight, so why even attempt it? Adrienne lay back on her couch. She stared at the ceiling for what seemed like hours, but was really only about 15 minutes, just thinking. She pondered her relationship with Justin, and then what their relationship really was. It took her a little while to realize, but really their relationship was a parasitic one. Justin took, took, and took, while Adrienne gave, gave and gave. Just never gave and Adrienne never took. What kind of relationship was that? Not really a relationship at all, by definition.

Maybe it was time for a change, she realized. For someone as smart as herself, why did she stay with such a loser like Justin? Though it felt mean for her to think, she realized that tonight she had done the right thing, and little did she know that she would get her just rewards for doing so and so would Patrick Verona, courtesy of Fate and the Goddess of Love.


End file.
